Cloud providers often claim they handle everythingperformance, I/O, security, disaster recovery (DR), and more. But is that truly the case? And if it is, what's the cost? If it's not entirely true, then again-- what's the cost?
It's certainly appealing to spin up a cloud environment quickly. In some cases, you can have a fully functional setup within a day, ready to start migrating your databases, files, and data. However, this isn't universal. We've encountered cloud environments that take months to provide the necessary infrastructure and provide the access you need.
Cloud providers love to say, "We've got it all covered." They promise managed security, optimized performance, controlled access, and assured data integrity.
But do they really?
And againwhat is the cost between high billing and loss of data.
How secure is their security? How manageable are their standards? Are the alerts meaningfulor just noise? Do their security recommendations align with your business rules and environment?
In our experience, we've had to reset alerts frequently because they didn't apply to our needs. We've also seen application tools and interfaces change unexpectedlyterminology shifts, screens are redesigned, and tools you've just learned to use are suddenly different.
These changes can lead to duplicate billing for the same tools and require significant personnel time to manage and adapt.
Yes, the clouds are cool. You don't need to run your own server room, hire security staff, or invest in high-tech physical safeguards. Cloud data centers are often located in regions safer from natural disasters like hurricanes, and they typically offer fast DR processes.
But the cloud still requires attention. It still needs humans to review configurations, monitor alerts, and ensure your data is secure, your business is running smoothly, and your costs are under control.
Cloud environments ents are not infallible, you need people to keep your environment running and to control costs. It does help save money in many ways. Their network is generally very stable, so you are not sending people to check on switches, routers and firewalls. But you do need to watch, or your bills will be extremely high, and you may not be as secure as you assume in the cloud without your team investigating and reviewing the strategy.
